Nations have the responsibility of controlling their borders if they want to be considered sovereign. Citizens have a right, through their government, to protect and influence the character of their society, institutions, economy and culture. In the age of terrorism, it can actually be a question of life and death. None of this should be taken as hostility to immigrants. If you lived in a poverty-stricken country, wouldn't you want to come here? You would, if you have energy and initiative. The people who cross the border are the ones willing to overcome numerous obstacles in order to work in what for them is an alien land and culture. They are dreaming the American Dream of hard work leading to success and a better life for themselves and their families. But with an estimated 12 million illegal residents, and perhaps tens of millions more who would like to join us, we need to set the terms for how many come, and who they are. Congressman Tom Petri of Wisconsin served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Somalia in the 1960's.

Illegal immigration is a hot topic in Washington, with advocates struggling to move a fragile compromise through Congress. It's a high priority for many, but I doubt it's going anywhere. Disagreement over its many provisions are simply too deep and too heartfelt to forge a consensus large enough to get it through.

And it shouldn't get through. It's being sold as a comprehensive solution - but that's what they said about the 1986 Simpson-Mazzoli immigration reform, which I voted against because I thought it wouldn't work and would encourage more illegals to come.

At close to 400 pages, the new bill the Senate is considering is as full of holes as our borders.

If that isn't the right bill, however, it's quite clear that we urgently need reform. Nations have the responsibility of controlling their borders if they want to be considered sovereign. Citizens have a right, through their government, to protect and influence the character of their society, institutions, economy and culture. In the age of terrorism, it can actually be a question of life and death.

None of this should be taken as hostility to immigrants. If you lived in a poverty-stricken country, wouldn't you want to come here? You would, if you have energy and initiative. The people who cross the border are the ones willing to overcome numerous obstacles in order to work in what for them is an alien land and culture. They are dreaming the American Dream of hard work leading to success and a better life for themselves and their families.

But with an estimated 12 million illegal residents, and perhaps tens of millions more who would like to join us, we need to set the terms for how many come, and who they are.

The first thing we need to do is to strengthen the border with additional walls, barriers, sensors and officers. These efforts are already underway, but they need to be carried forward until the vast majority are deterred from trying to sneak in.

Then we need to deal with those who enter legally on tourist or student visas, but who choose not to leave. We already keep track of people who come in through customs, and we should likewise know who is leaving on time, and who isn't. And we should have warrants and appropriate punishments for those who overstay.

Do we need a guest worker program? Yes. In Wisconsin, for instance, our larger dairy farmers have found that, for some reason, family members and other Americans don't seem to be interested in milking cows three times a day, seven days a week, 365 days of the year. So they hire a few immigrants who sleep in a bunkhouse and send money back to Mexico.

Without immigrant labor, most of our fruit and vegetable crops in the southwest would wither in the fields. With low 4.5 percent unemployment nationally, there is a real need to find people to fill these jobs.

We should have a guest worker program designed to aid our economy and provide some opportunity for our neighbors. The workers should receive legal wages and pay taxes. But it should be understood that people entering under the program would go home on a set schedule. As with tourist and student visas, the government should know when somebody fails to leave, and act accordingly.

Should we have amnesty for illegals who have made productive lives for themselves here, and whose only crime is the fact that they're here? Few believe we could sweep up 12 million people and send them home without considerable disruption.

But it makes no sense to talk about legalizing any of these residents before we have successfully taken control. We provided amnesty in 1986, and potential immigrants were encouraged to think we would do so again. For the future it must be made clear that immigration will either be done the legal way, or no way.

Dodd issues call for National ServiceStanding on the steps of the Nashua City Hall where JFK kicked off his campaign in 1960, Presidential Candidate Chris Dodd issued a call for National Service. "Like thousands of others, I heard President Kennedy's words and a short time later joined the Peace Corps." Dodd said his goal is to see 40 million people volunteering in some form or another by 2020. "We have an appetite for service. We like to be asked to roll up our sleeves and make a contribution," he said. "We haven't been asked in a long time."

Public diplomacy rests on sound public policyWhen President Kennedy spoke of "a long twilight struggle," and challenged the country to "ask not," he signaled that the Cold War was the challenge and framework defining US foreign policy. The current challenge is not a struggle against a totalitarian foe. It is not a battle against an enemy called "Islamofascism." From these false assumptions flow false choices, including the false choice between law enforcement and war. Instead, law enforcement and military force both must be essential instruments, along with diplomacy, including public diplomacy. But public diplomacy rests on policy, and to begin with, the policy must be sound. Read more.

Ambassador revokes clearance for PC DirectorA post made on PCOL from volunteers in Tanzania alleges that Ambassador Retzer has acted improperly in revoking the country clearance of Country Director Christine Djondo. A statement from Peace Corps' Press Office says that the Peace Corps strongly disagrees with the ambassador’s decision. On June 8 the White House announced that Retzer is being replaced as Ambassador. Latest: Senator Dodd has placed a hold on Mark Green's nomination to be Ambassador to Tanzania.

Peace Corps FunniesA PCV writing home? Our editor hard at work? Take a look at our Peace Corps Funnies and Peace Corps Cartoons and see why Peace Corps Volunteers say that sometimes a touch of levity can be one of the best ways of dealing with frustrations in the field. Read what RPCVs say about the lighter side of life in the Peace Corps and see why irreverent observations can often contain more than a grain of truth. We'll supply the photos. You supply the captions.

PCOL serves half millionPCOL's readership for April exceeded 525,000 visitors - a 50% increase over last year. This year also saw the advent of a new web site: Peace Corps News that together with the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps serve 17,000 RPCVs, Staff, and Friends of the Peace Corps every day. Thanks for making PCOL your source of news for the Peace Corps community. Read more.

Suspect confesses in murder of PCVSearch parties in the Philippines discovered the body of Peace Corps Volunteer Julia Campbell near Barangay Batad, Banaue town on April 17. Director Tschetter expressed his sorrow at learning the news. “Julia was a proud member of the Peace Corps family, and she contributed greatly to the lives of Filipino citizens in Donsol, Sorsogon, where she served,” he said. Latest: Suspect Juan Duntugan admits to killing Campbell. Leave your thoughts and condolences .

Warren Wiggins: Architect of the Peace CorpsWarren Wiggins, who died at 84 on April 13, became one of the architects of the Peace Corps in 1961 when his paper, "A Towering Task," landed in the lap of Sargent Shriver, just as Shriver was trying to figure out how to turn the Peace Corps into a working federal department. Shriver was electrified by the treatise, which urged the agency to act boldly. Read Mr. Wiggins' obituary and biography, take an opportunity to read the original document that shaped the Peace Corps' mission, and read John Coyne's special issue commemorating "A Towering Task."

Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace CorpsSenator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments.

He served with honorOne year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor.

History of the Peace CorpsPCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help.

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Story Source: MyFox Milwaukee

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Figures; COS - Somalia; Politics; Congress; Immigration

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